Olio

A Closed Mind is a Good Thing to Lose

Where no man has gone for days: “Into the air junior birdman.” So starts a spoof of the Air Force anthem. However these days if you are scheduled to fly American Airlines you will be more like the line from the musical Cats, “.... they sit and sit and sit and sit, and that’s what makes a Gumby cat.” The airline has made scores of travelers, well, un-American. Now I’m no mechanic, nor do I play one on TV, but somehow I am unable to understand why putting plastic ties around a strand of wires and spacing them 1 1/4” apart makes the airplane less safe than if they are spaced 1” apart. Next they will probably turn first class into no class. Oh, sorry, they already did.

How could that have happened: In what must have been a moment of brain lapse the Senate actually did something that seems to be of benefit. The housing crisis has been bungled (Don’t even mention Katrina, or Mission Accomplished) but the squabbling children from both sides of the aisle actually got together and passed a bill 84-12 that is designed to help... Of course the help will go primarily to businesses and not people losing their homes to foreclosure. But it is a start. Those who buy foreclosed homes will get a $ 7,000 tax credit and homebuilders will get tax breaks. $ 4 billion in grants will be available for communities to buy and fix up abandoned homes. Now the House has its turn to attack the bill.

1,2,3 the problem is not me: What goes up is not American Airlines MD 80s. The airline for the third day cancelled flights – more than 900 by some counts, stranding another 100,000+ passengers. Of course the airlines blame the FAA and the FAA says, “What, me worry?” It is a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, especially inside terminals in Dallas, Chicago, New York, Florida, California, etc. Alaska and Midwest joined in canceling up to a dozen flights each. Sounds like the FAA who ordered the inspections, not for safety but to verify “technical compliance” are the ones who (mis)handled Katrina. I’m waiting for a high government to come out and say, “Brownie’s doing a heck of a job.”

The Devil probably did it: New hail storms and twisters have pounded Arkansas and surrounding states. Homes were damaged, roads flooded, and thousands were without power. It hasn’t happened yet but I’d not be surprised if some religious zealot said it was God’s punishment for Arkansas sending two presidential candidates – one from each party – to Washington.

Getting slapped silly: By now everybody who has a digital TV set (since they are the only ones that work now) has seen the videotape of girls gone wild, free-for-all boxing division. The eight Florida teens, six powder-puff and two hombres ages 14-18 will all be tried as adults. Charges could include kidnapping. The irony is that the idiots taped the beating to show the world on You-tube. They got their wish for notoriety. One was to have said, “I guess we’ll miss spring break.”

A little blogging music Maestro… Nancy Sinatra’s “Something Stupid.”

Dr. Forgot